


A Tail of Love

by Mockingbird_22



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Apprentice Warlock Cisco, Coldflashweek2016, Day-2 Fairytale AU, Disney style romance, M/M, Merman Len, Prince Barry, The Little Mermaid AU, Warlock Wells
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-09
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-07 10:42:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8797696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mockingbird_22/pseuds/Mockingbird_22
Summary: When Barry's ship burns down he's pulled from the sea and rescued by a mysterious saviour. All Len wants is to get out of the ocean, away from his father and explore the world up above, having heard so many tales about humans. It seems events have coincided to bring these two together, in a romance unlike any other.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please enjoy my ColdFlash Week story. I'm very excited for this! Rating will go up and tags will be added as necessary as the story progresses. Thank you to Wacheypena for the title!

It was Barry’s 25th birthday and as such a party aboard his ship had been ordered. Food, dancing, music, a huge stone statue of Barry even were what awaited him on board.

They weren’t sailing out too far, just out of the harbour for a few hours; they’d be back by sunrise. This was mainly for Barry’s sailing crew and his advisor and Supreme Warlock to the Court (his own title) Harry Wells, who insisted on coming along to keep an eye on things. There’d be a more formal celebration later on with Barry’s friends and staff from the castle. This party was for all those who sailed with Barry throughout his time adventuring and exploring the high seas. Prince he may be but he was an explorer at heart, never able to sit still in his castle when there was so much to be seen and found. So many secrets that the ocean held which he wished to unlock.

The party was in full swing and Barry was having a good time although he kept staring at the creepy looking statue that had been commissioned. He was posed in a typical ‘Mighty Hero’ pose complete with sword and shield plaque commemorating his birthday. Barry barely even knew how to hold a sword! But he was gracious and accepted the gift kindly.

He danced and drank and felt good, really good. At the stroke of midnight fireworks were let off from the ship. Barry hadn’t even noticed they’d been loaded on. The display was going well, until the wind suddenly picked up. It made the waves choppy and veered the ship to the side enough that one of the lit fireworks ended up hitting the sails. It caught fire immediately and started to spread. There was enough varnish, wood and cotton on there that the ship would be ablaze in no time. Not to mention the amount of alcohol.

Barry, thinking quickly started ushering people in lifeboats. Then he threw the rest of the fireworks overboard lest the fire reach them and creates an explosion.

The fire blazed hot and strong. Parts of the ship were already badly charred and beams were starting to fall. Barry dodged the falling debris as best he could, trying to make sure everyone else was okay. Unfortunately, as he had his back turned, he didn’t see a huge wooden beam fall from over-head; it didn’t hit him on the head but did smash into him and knock him over the side of the ship. The crew members still on board shouted and yelled but he didn’t answer. They couldn’t even see him floating anywhere either.

Harry and the rest of the sailors wanted to stay and search but it was too late and too dark anyway. They had to get away from the ship before it went down completely and took them with it. So they picked up their oars and started the slow row back to shore and safety, all the while sending words of hope that Barry was somehow okay and had survived. They’d send search parties out first thing tomorrow to scour the sea and coastline.  

For now though Barry was lost to the sea.

*****

Len had known something was wrong as soon as he heard raised voices and shouts. He didn’t know the words but could recognise sounds of distress anywhere. He had to hide from view though, he was too close to the ship as it was and could have easily been spotted.

He swam away to watch the chaos from afar as tongues of orange and red licked up the beams of the ship and sent bits crumbling down below. He felt helpless but what could he feasibly do?

Len watched as humans were helped into smaller boats and then noticed when one of the men was suddenly knocked overboard. He swam fast and kept underneath the surface. He reached the fallen man, who by the look of it was also unconscious. Aware that humans couldn’t survive in the water for long periods, Len swam with him to some place safe where he could watch over him until he woke up.

The man was tall, lean and had dark hair, dark brown actually as he’d noticed aboard the ship, although now due to the water it looked almost black. He had big shining eyes and red cheeks. And from what Len gathered, the celebration was in his name.

Len managed to find a secluded cove, only reachable by water and dragged the body on to the beach. He’d stay nearby and hopefully be there when the man awoke which would probably be in the morning. Thankfully he hadn’t been in the water too long and so there was very little risk of him getting too cold, plus it was still fairly mild out even at night. 

*****

Barry woke up and saw the sun shining high over him, he felt awful – headachey, thirsty and his back was aching. Looking down he noticed he was laying on sand, his shirt was ripped and he was missing a boot. Then the memories of the accident started to come back to him. The last thing he’d felt was the wind punched out of him as he was flung from the ship. He had no idea how he’d survived and made it to a beach though.

And then he saw it, no not an it a him. A creature perched atop a rock a little way in front of him. He looked like everything Barry had ever imagined merpeople to look like, but could it be so? Or was he just hallucinating? Maybe from heat stroke or something? Was he really right about there being life like this under the sea?

Barry carried on staring for a moment. The man had a long scaled icy blue tail that looked tough and durable, with fins extending from the sides. It was glistening in the sunlight, especially where the light caught each delicate but sturdy looking scale. Close shaven hair and icy blue eyes the same colour as his fins and tail. He had fins on his arms and gills on his neck and webbed hands by the look of it. His chest was bare, broad and well defined with a dusting of hair between his nipples. He was also staring back at Barry.

Barry wasn’t terrified though, like maybe he should have been. Just fascinated really, he’d heard tales of the merpeople but never actually thought he’d meet one.

The merman opened his mouth but Barry couldn’t understand the words. He knew of something that Cisco had been working in which might help but currently had no way of contacting anyone.

Barry tried to gesture that he couldn’t understand, the merman looked puzzled but seemed to get it as he stopped talking after that. Instead he started to gesture, almost like charades, that Barry was on a boat and he pulled him from the water to save him.

Oh. This was turning into the beginning of some kind of fairy story. Getting rescued by a mythical creature. Although clearly not that mythical anymore.

Barry nodded along to the tale and thanked the merman. He only looked puzzled though, clearly not understanding Barry’s language either.

Barry thought on it and then started to point to himself and say his name. Hoping the merman would understand. He did, kept repeating the word in fact, seeing how it played on his tongue. He then gestured to himself and said “Leonard”, before retracting that and going for “Len”. Barry assumed that “Len” must have thought that would be easier for him to say.

Barry said the merman’s name out loud, Len looked pleased that it has been successfully communicated.

 Looking around for a moment, Barry took in his surroundings and realised he did actually recognise the area. It was a small secluded cove along the coastline from his castle, so not far away at all. He had the perfect thing that Cisco had been working on which would hopefully allow him to properly communicate with Len. He just needed to make a trip back to the castle to get it.

Len was still sitting on his rock curiously looking Barry all over. Probably working out the differences between himself and humans, Barry doubted he’d ever seen a human up close like this before. Most probably wouldn’t be so welcoming.

Walking closer to the shore, Barry looked around the coastline and could see the castle in the distance to his right. Barry pointed at the castle and then himself. Trying to make Len understand that he needed to get there.

Len seems to understand and gestures to himself and the water, making a swimming motion with his arm and then pointing to Barry and the sand motioning him walking.

Oh, Len was trying to explain that he’d swim alongside Barry. Barry nodded and began walking. Len jumped off the rock, back into the water and started swimming, they couldn’t stay that close as Len needed the deeper water, but it was nice. Silently they both kept going the same direction, looking at each other constantly, both fascinated by the other.

A couple of hours passed and they were nearing a town Barry knew well, he could see the path leading to it from the beach. Barry looked at Len trying to think of the best way to do this. He held his hand up as a sign to “wait there” and hoped Len would understand. And then gestured that he had to go and come back.

Len nodded and Barry hoped he’d been understood correctly.

He left the beach and walked along a path that would lead to the town. Reaching a shop front he was immediately recognised, the shop owners spoke of how relieved the castle would be to have the prince back safe and sound. They mentioned that the ship going down was the talk of the towns and everyone was on the lookout in case the prince was found.

Barry had almost forgotten what had happened last night. The party, his ship getting destroyed. Honestly, meeting Len had been enough of a surprise that he seemed to have temporarily pushed it from his mind.

Graciously they offered to telephone the castle and in no time a carriage was coming to collect the prince.

Once inside the castle, Barry had people fawning all over him. Saying how pleased they were that he was back and unharmed and how worried they’d been. Especially Harry and Caitlin. Caitlin was the resident doctor and so asked all about how Barry was feeling and if he had any major injuries. She also said she wanted to do a full body examination on him. Barry managed to appease her by ensuring that he would come to her that evening and let her examine him. Harry also let up once Barry said that he really just wanted to go and have a hot bath and get changed.

Well, it wasn’t all a lie, Barry did change into some every day clothes and as soon as that was done he sought out his best friend and apprentice warlock/engineering guru Cisco Ramon. Cisco had been working on a pill that allowed for universal translation and Barry really hoped that with the added magic it could work across species too.

On seeing Barry, Cisco pulled him into a tight embrace.

“Man I was so worried, especially after what they said about you getting hit as you went overboard too.”

He reluctantly let Barry go to sit back down in his workshop.

“Yeah, kind of unbelievable huh?”

“So what happened?”

“Okay I will tell you the whole story, but right now I need something and then I have to hurry out again. I promise I will tell you later. Can you help me?”

“Fine fine. Okay, what do you need?” Cisco conceded.

“You know those translator pills you’ve been working on…?” Barry asked hopefully.

“Yeah?”

“Well I kinda need one, I don’t have time to explain now but I promise you I will.”

“Okay, Barr this is all sounding very weird but I’m gonna go with it because it’s you. And I trust that whatever it is you’re doing is for a reason, and I’m gonna get a full explanation later,” Cisco explained.

“Yes. Absolutely you will,” Barry said hurriedly.

Cisco walked over to a small box and retrieved a pill, handing it to Barry he said, “Take it just before you need to speak, it will last longer that way.”

“Thank you Cisco, so much. I owe you,” Barry answered as he excitedly jumped up from his seat and took the pill.

Barry left Cisco’s workshop and crept along the palace to the coach house. The carriage he used earlier was still waiting for him so he slipped into the seat, took the reins and was off once again to go and find Len.

It wasn’t quite evening when he arrived. The sun was still hanging in the sky, but lower than before. He looked around but couldn’t see anyone. He knew he didn’t make himself clear before, Len probably assumed he was just going and that was it. There was a large rock by the shoreline that he went over to and sat on. All of a sudden a merman jumped up out of the water behind him and swam up to the rock. Barry nearly fell backwards from the shock.

He quickly swallowed the pill and tried to speak.

“Hi there, uhh I’m Barry. Thank you so much for saving me.” Barry recognised that his voice sounded different but he could still perfectly understand what he was saying as the words left his mouth. He waited to see if it really worked on non-human languages too.

Len looked up, clearly surprised at hearing his language come from a human, and one that couldn’t speak it a few hours ago. He tilted his head to the side and stared.

“Oh, uhh we have technology that allows me to speak your language,” Barry added in clarification.

“Hello, Barry. I don’t know how your technology works but I’m pleased it does, it’s lovely hearing your voice and understanding it.”

Barry felt a little heat creep into his cheeks. Of course Len didn’t mean it like, that he liked Barry’s voice, he was simply stating it was good to understand him. It was still nice to hear though.

“And I’m sorry if I spooked you when I emerged from the water. I forget that humans aren’t exactly used to that sort of thing.”

Barry’s lips curled into small smile. “Uhh no we’re not, but don’t worry I’m fine now. So, umm Merpeople are real then?” Barry couldn’t think of anything else to say and finally talking to a legendary creature that also happened to save him from a shipwreck was a bit more than he could handle right now.

Len smiled. “Yes very real. We keep ourselves hidden mostly to avoid confrontation with humans. Not all are as kind as you, or as handsome.”

Okay that was definitely meant how Barry took it. He felt his face heat up again at the obvious compliment.

“Have you dealt with humans in the past then?” Barry asked curiously, he was starting to want to know everything he could about Len and his people.

“I haven’t personally but I have watched them from afar and I know others who have interacted with humans. Those meetings didn’t always go over that well. I try to stay away from the surface too much, mainly to protect my sister as it’s just the two of us and I would hate anything to happen to put her in danger.”

Barry wondered about his sister, what did she look like? Would he ever be able to meet her? Too many questions swum round in his head. He settled on one from earlier that he’d wanted to ask.

“Okay, I can understand that. Protecting your family, that’s the most important thing. So why save me then? You could have been hurt, or seen?”

Barry really hoped Len hadn’t put himself in danger during the rescue, he would hate for anyone to try and come after him.

“You were in danger; your ship was on fire. I couldn’t just let you die. We may not see eye to eye with your kind but I wouldn’t be able to see someone get hurt knowing I could have helped. And plus being able to breath underwater means I wasn’t in danger when I pulled you up.”

Barry couldn’t help but stare as Len spoke. He had a really nice voice, Barry could listen to it for hours. He also looked beautiful sat down on the shore, water droplets falling off his skin and glistening in the sun. Barry quickly snapped himself back to the present.

“So you can breathe on land too then? I mean obviously as you’re out of the water now but how long can you go for?”

“I can close my gills and breathe just like you on land so I can stay out of the water as long as I need.”

Barry was so fascinated by Len. He found it incredible the adaptations he had to survive on land or in water. He’d never be able to thank the merman enough for what he did, but he could try.

“Is there any way I can repay you for saving my life? I’m a prince here and I don’t know if you know what that is but I can give you a reward if you’d like?”

Len chuckled and it was a beautiful sound Barry thought. “We too have royalty in our world with riches and jewels and castles, just different from yours. I have no desire for payment but might I ask to see you again? I’d love to know more about your world?” Len asked eagerly.

“Of course. Yeah I can do that. Where? When? I know you need to not be seen, so just tell me a place and I’ll find it. I know it’s kinda deserted around here but is there anywhere better?”

Len looked pleased and smiled up at Barry. “There’s a small, virtually isolated cove around the other side of the cliffs. It’s near a shipwreck and it difficult to get to so no-one ever goes there. There are two boulders on the sand that should be visible from the rocks.”

“I think know where you mean,” Barry said in realisation, he’d seen the area before from the cliffs, when he was out riding one day. The two rocks looked from up above, almost like a heart shape. I can meet you tomorrow at sunset maybe?”

“I look forward to it. Until then, Barry.” And with that Len turned on the sand and dove into the sea swimming away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry tells Caitlin, Cisco, Joe and Harry all about what's been going on (well mostly at least) before his next meeting with Len. And more about Len's past is revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this has taken me so long to post. I've had parts of this written for a while but couldn't get it to flow right and i realised what was because chapter 2 and 3 belonged in one, so i have combined them. I know chapter 1 was shorter but from now on i'm going to aim for longer chapters, i think they work better. Also, I tend not to write linearly either so found that challenging as well as i haven't done anything multi-chaptered before.

On his return to the castle, Barry made good on both his promises to his two friends. First stop - Caitlin for his physical. Plus his back was starting to ache by now and must have been somewhat bruised at least.

He already knew he would be mostly truthful with her about what had happened. He’d just leave out the merman part. He respected and trusted Caitlin but he just didn’t want too many people to know about his mythical encounter, not yet at least.

He softly knocked on her door.

“Hey Caitlin,” he murmured when the doctor opened the door to him.

“Barry, please tell me you’re gonna let me examine you now? And maybe give an explanation as to how you were saved?”

“Yeah, I kinda owe you an apology I guess. Look I was rescued by someone and I didn’t speak their language so I had to get to Cisco to find something to help me out. I wanted to thank the person properly after all. And I didn’t want to keep them waiting for too long.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie, just a half truth that left out the fact said person was of the Mer variety.

Caitlin didn’t seem annoyed or upset though. “Oh Barry, you should have just said. Of course we would have understood. I’m sure everyone in the castle would love to meet the person responsible for saving their prince. We all owe that person a great debt for returning you safely to the kingdom.”

“Oh there’s no need for that, I saw the man, Len, again earlier and he’s just passing through and will probably have left before I can figure out a way to contact him. And I offered to reward him which he turned down too.”

“Hmm, that’s too bad then, not many would pass up an offer of a reward from a prince. Anyway I need to now thoroughly examine you, so take your shirt off and jump up on the bed and we’ll get started.”

Barry obeyed and soon was having a multitude of tests run on him: checking his breathing, blood sugar, blood pressure, heart rate, examining him for broken bones, torn ligaments and the like and looking for any sign of broken or cracked ribs. Thankfully Caitlin found nothing except bruising on his back from where he’ been hit by the beam that cast him from the ship. Nothing was broken though and Barry didn’t register too much pain, at least not at the moment. Caitlin did give him some painkillers if he needed them.

“Okay Barry that’s about it, you seem perfectly healthy, but do come to me immediately if you get any really bad back pain or start to experience any dizziness, nausea or anything out of the ordinary,” Caitlin said.

“I will Cait I promise,” Barry responded sincerely, “Am I allowed to go now? I really need to see Cisco too and I want to at least try to get to bed early. It’s been a rough day after all,” he joked.

“Absolutely, I’ll see you tomorrow Barry.”

Barry finished doing his shirt back up and hopped of the bed exiting the door with a, “Bye Caitlin,” as he went.

Barry didn’t exactly want to lie to one of his best friends but Caitlin was a scientist, a medical professional and he worried that telling her about the existence of Merfolk might interest her too much. He’d met Len once and didn’t want to scare him off if Caitlin decided she wanted to accompany Barry to see Len for herself. Of course she wouldn’t cause him harm but she’d ask a lot of questions and probably even want to examine Len, she was methodical and professional, not cold as such but that was just her manner as a doctor. Barry just didn’t feel comfortable yet thinking about that and how Len would feel being subjected to a multitude of questions. He would come clean to Caitlin but not yet, not this soon. And especially not until he’d seen Len at least another few times and checked with him first.

Cisco however was a different story. He already believed in the fantastic and myths of the world. Any legend he could read about he became enthralled by. Fascinated by the world and all the creatures he firmly believed lived in it somewhere. If magic existed then magical and otherworldly creatures certainly had to, by his reasoning. Barry knew he’d tell Cisco straight away and that he would be just as awed as Barry was but without the fear of pushing to meet Len and learn all about his kind right then and there.

As soon as Barry reached Cisco’s workshop he was pushed to sit down and explain his story. Barry told Cisco all about Len, what he was, how he’d rescued him and stayed until he was sure Barry was going to be okay, the real reason as to why he needed the translator pill.

“Wow. I mean, I never thought Merfolk would live near here! And especially not that my best friend would get saved by one! So he doesn’t just speak another human language but a different species language! I’m glad my little invention could help!”

“Yes thank you for that! Well I wasn’t exactly expecting that either, or to have my ship burn down but there we go. At least no-one else got injured and that was my priority at the time. I did love that ship though,” Barry finished solemnly.

“Yeah I know you did. But at least you’re fine. You have no idea what it was like here when you didn’t come back, everyone was kinda going crazy, especially Harry. He put out alerts to all the nearby towns and villages in case you were seen around. Oh and he rang Joe too, he’ll be back late morning tomorrow apparently, he can’t leave any sooner.”

“Okay thanks, Cisco.”

“So anyway, back to your new merman beau.”

“He is not “my beau”.” Barry rolled his eyes.

“Well maybe not yet but from the way you’re talking about him…”

“Okay fine. He’s nice, I think, I mean he saved me at least and then made sure I woke up too. And he has really beautiful eyes and he is kinda gorgeous especially when he came out of the ocean and water was trailing down-”

“Uhh, Barry?” Cisco interrupted.

Barry suddenly snapped back to himself realising that he had been daydreaming and just rambling about Len, well at least he hadn’t voiced _some_ of the thoughts currently circling round in his head.

“Oh sorry.”

“No worries my man. So are you gonna see him again?”

Barry looked a little shy before answering, “Uhh yeh tomorrow evening actually. There’s just something about him that I kinda feel drawn to. I want to know about his world, away from all this,” he gestured to the surrounding castle, “just for a little while. Not that I don’t love it here, I’d never leave - I have responsibilities and I love all of you but it was nice talking to Len if only briefly, having a little break, being by the ocean even more.”

“Seems like you really do like him. Well good luck and I expect progress reports,” Cisco said, emphasised with a stern point of his finger.

Barry laughed. “Don’t worry I need someone to talk about this with.”

“Haven’t you told Caitlin? What about Iris?” Cisco asked.

“I will,” Barry defended. “Caitlin’s just so analytical and I’m worried she’ll want to meet Len and stuff or do tests on him, even though she’s my friend and I know she wouldn’t hurt him. Besides the less people that know the better for now, I don’t want to put Len in danger either. So I’m not gonna tell Iris right away either, I mean at least not what he is. She’ll most likely guess, scratch that, she’ll know I’ve met someone. You know how she reads people, especially me!”

“Okay, okay, fair enough, my lips are sealed then.” Cisco made the accompanying gesture too. “You do realise Joe and Harry are gonna expect a proper explanation too about who saved you right?”

Barry knew full well that they would want to know exactly what had happened to him, and there’d be words with whoever decided that _fireworks_ on a _wooden and fabric_ _ship_ were a great idea. There were also preparations for the upcoming ball that they’d want to discuss as well.

He decided he was going to need a good night’s rest to deal with all of that tomorrow. He had planned on going and seeing Iris too, who was the head pastry chef in the castle kitchens, but it was late by now and he still hadn’t eaten.

Barry asked for food to be prepared and brought to his room while he indulged in a long bath finally, washing away the faint smell of sea salt and the dryness of his skin.

Barry’s dreams that night were graced by blue eyes and bright, glittering scales.

*****

Barry woke early the next morning, part eager to see Joe again and part anxious about the meeting he would have with both Joe and Harry and the questions they would want answers to. He wasn’t sure yet if his parents had been told about what happened and if they didn’t know then he saw no reason to worry them, especially as they were far away and wouldn’t see him until the ball.

Any memories of last night’s dreams slipped away as Barry prepared for his busy day. He was glad he had something to look forward to in the evening.

Joe was expected back in a couple of hours so Barry decided the best course of action would be to speak with both him and Harry at the same time, that way he didn’t have to repeat the story twice and there was less chance he’d say something different to either of them. Barry could tell them most of what happened without it being an outright lie, the same as he did with Caitlin, although they were bound to worry more as he was under their protection and so were always concerned for Barry’s safety.

When Barry was eleven he moved away from his parent’s castle to one of his own which was in the kingdom that belonged to his father. Nora and Henry were both heirs in their own right and upon marrying had decided to stay in Nora’s kingdom as it was much larger and there was more work to be done and people whom needed protecting. Henry put in place advisors to run his estate and smaller kingdom until Barry was old enough to take over. So when Barry was eleven and old enough to understand what all of this meant, it was decided that he should move away. Not only so he could learn about his new kingdom but also for his own protection, Nora’s kingdom was experiencing a high number of raids and criminal activity at the time and there had been at least one attempt on the King and Queen’s lives.

Initially, Barry missed his parents but he spoke to them regularly by phone and wrote all the time. They visited him when time allowed too and he did love the added freedom as he grew into his teen years. At eighteen Barry became the rightful heir to his father’s kingdom but due to technicalities would not be crowned king until he was married. Barry loved his parents dearly and still spoke to them often by telephone, he did however appreciate the space and the ability to learn his own methods for doing things.

Until he did marry, Barry’s land was still under some jurisdiction from his parents which in part allowed him freedom to go off on adventures and explorations, knowing he had Joe West, one of this father’s best friends to help with the running of things at the castle and further afield. Barry did have some manner of duties to fulfil but he was still allowed the freedom he loved.

Joe was one of Henry’s most trusted and loyal friends and had practically raised Barry as his own when he first arrived at the castle. His role as advisor going above and beyond to help and tutor Barry in any way he needed. Joe could now not be prouder of the young man and Prince Barry had become.

Barry had also formed a great friendship with Iris, Joe’s daughter. He thought at one point they may have a future but those feelings didn’t last too long and thankfully never disrupted the great friendship they had. One of Barry’s favourite things after all was to sneak into the kitchens and steal Iris’s delicious pastries and desserts, a job she had worked hard to get once she discovered a talent for baking.

It was also thanks to Joe that Harrison “Harry” Wells was brought in. He may have been petty and a pain in the ass sometimes but Barry knew Harry was just doing what was best. He was not only very knowledgeable which would serve Barry well, but he was a Warlock, and one of immense power. He was seen as an incredible asset, not least because he could protect the then young prince from any harm should anyone try to take his throne before he was able to fight for himself.

Barry may have sometimes become exasperated by the constant level of worry the two men had (it was like having two extra father’s!) but he appreciated it really, the fact they cared for him so deeply. So in all fairness he couldn’t get too mad that they’d want to know all about his miraculous recovery after nearly drowning.

******

As soon as Joe arrived back he asked to see Barry, concerned over his safety as any father would be. Joe embraced Barry tightly.

“I’m so relieved that you’re okay Barr. You have no idea how worried I was when I received that phone call.”

“I know and I’m so sorry for you worrying like that.”

Joe shook his head lightly. “Nothing about this was your fault. You didn’t ask the waves to get choppy and for the ship to catch on fire, which I will be talking to certain people about later. I’m sorry too I know how much that ship meant to you. I’m just glad that you’re here and well. Do the King and Queen know?”

“Me too Joe. I’m not sure and if they don’t I’d like to keep it that way, at least until I see them in person at the ball. So how were your meetings?” Barry diverted.

“Okay Barr, I’ll take your judgement on this one. The meetings were fine, we can discuss business at the council meeting. I want to know all about how you made it out of the ocean,” Joe pressed.

“Yeah, okay. If it’s alright I’ve invited Harry to join us, so I only have to go over all of this once.”

“Okay, Barr.”

Barry led both Joe into the library where Harry was already waiting for them.  

He explained the tale once more in as much detail as possible, without giving anything about Len away. Both Harry and Joe seemed satisfied, if not disappointed that they could not meet Barry’s rescuer and reward him properly, as was the standard custom when one saved a Prince’s life.

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there Barr,” Joe said truthfully.

“No Joe, it wasn’t anyone’s fault, really it’s okay. I’m fine so that’s all that matters. Yeh I lost my ship but I’ll just have to accept that,” Barry replied with a slight sadness to his tone. He’d had some great adventures on board that vessel.

“And you’re sure no-one had planned this? That this wasn’t premeditated?” Joe asked. “It’s happened to your parents before.”

Barry shook his head before Harry interjected, “It wasn’t Joe there’s no way.”

“Yeh honestly it was a complete accident and I don’t blame whoever was responsible either, they had no idea the waters would get that choppy,” Barry added.

“I must say though, and this is to the both of you, that I’m sorry I couldn’t do more to help.” Harry looked off to the side then continued, “My position as Barry’s protector and with my magic, I should have been able to help more. I never should have let myself drink that much. My powers were practically non-existent with the amount of alcohol I had consumed and that was careless of me.”

“No Harry, like I said before it was no-one’s fault and there was no more you could have done. We all panicked, it happens. Plus you _are_ allowed a night off once in a while, especially as it was just a small party with friends. You’ve been there for me for so long and you’ve definitely done more than enough throughout that time,” Barry stated with a warm smile directed at Harry.   

“I agree with Barr,” Joe added. “There was nothing more that could be done given the circumstances and we both know that you’ve gone above and beyond to protect Barry all these years.”

“Thank you Joe, Barry,” he said nodding to each in turn then getting up from his chair. “So if that’s all, I have things to discuss with Cisco.”

“For now it is, although Barry and I have plans for the ball to discuss still,” Joe replied. “But we can handle that.”

Harry nodded once more and then left the room.

“So we need to finalise the guest list and seating plan, menu’s, music and what you’re going to be wearing. The tailor want’s to come and see you either tomorrow or the day after for a fitting, once you’ve decided what you’d like,” Joe explained.

“Okay then, let’s get to work,” Barry answered trying to sound excited about it all. He was excited about the ball, don’t get him wrong and seeing his parents again. It was just that something more immediate exciting was happening tonight when he got to see Len again.

Barry decided that a least with all these arrangement the time would fly by.

******

Len woke up around 10 that morning tired from a late night of questions from his sister. Once Lisa had discovered that Len had not only been to the surface but had met a human she had to know more. What did he look like? Was he nice? Was he as bad as the other humans she’d heard about? Len answered her as best he could but honestly it wasn’t like he knew a lot himself, after only one meeting with Barry. Barry - he liked that name, he wasn’t sure why but it just fitted the cute human perfectly.

Once Len was up and ready he met Mick to go exploring. Mick lived next to Len and Lisa, had done since he was assigned as Len’s bodyguard when Len was 16 and Mick was 19, even then he was a big guy and wasn’t afraid of a fight.

A bodyguard had been necessary because Len’s father was Lewis Snart. He had been a member of the Central Council which ran the kingdom but he was not a nice guy. Len’s mother and Lewis’s first wife had died during childbirth when Len was born. Len was mainly raised by others, nannies and the like, until he was around 10 years old. That’s when his father started drinking more heavily and the beatings started, it was also around the time Lisa was born. Before that it had been only words, as soon as Len could understand why his mother was no longer around Lewis made no secret of telling Len exactly what he thought and blaming him completely for his wife’s death.

The verbal and emotional abuse got even worse after Lewis found out that Len liked men too. That didn’t stop Len from living his life but he was always extra careful about where and when he met people he was dating or trying to at least.

When Lewis stopped caring where he hit Len and the other councillors started to notice the marks on his skin they assigned Mick Rory as his personal guard. The beatings stopped instantly, Mick was in his prime and knew how to subdue someone but what he couldn’t stop were the words. The other councillors didn’t know how Len was getting beaten but they said they’d do whatever they could to help. The councillors just assumed it was bullies or school fights which were to blame. Len just hung on to the fact that his so called father had never once laid a finger on Lisa. In his words he had no need to because she wasn’t responsible for the death of her mother, even though Lisa’s mother did leave but not until later, when Mick was in the picture, and she wasn’t “a perversion”.

After a year of knowing Mick, Len finally had the courage and backup to report what Lewis had been doing. Proof of Lewis’s crimes and not just against his son, were then uncovered including taking money for bribes and blackmail. Even a murder charge was pinned on him that Len had no idea about but couldn’t say he was too surprised given the man in question. Lewis was sentenced to life in prison. A sentence he’d been serving for the last 26 years.

Len still lived in the residence where all councillors and their family members did at the council’s insistence. Len appreciated the gesture greatly, especially as it meant Lisa could stay too and of course Mick, who had lived next door since they met. After Lewis was put away Len took on the task of raising Lisa, with some help from the other parents who were around and took turns watching each other’s children sometimes.

******

Len and Mick swam out to a wreck that Len had wanted to explore for a while now. They’d found it recently, full of human objects but hadn’t had the time to fully explore it until now. Len loved looking through all of the items and trying to find out their use - small shiny boxes that opened up which he found out produced something called fire; shiny twisted objects with decorative wooden tops that apparently opened bottles of alcohol and even wooden curved objects which humans supposedly filled with leaves and smoked for some reason. Everything about the human world fascinated Len and he’d been off exploring ship wrecks and the like for a long time, when he had Mick assigned as his guard he just took Mick along too. Initially he tried to sneak off but Mick was too good at finding him so eventually Len decided that as long as he kept quiet he could also come exploring. It worked well as somehow Mick possessed knowledge of the human world and could explain the uses of most of Len’s treasures and trinkets. Once Len found he could trust Mick he brought him to his secret cave full of his spoils and loved hearing what the human use of most of the objects was.

“So this human you met, I hear he’s a good one?” Mick asked as he swam along next to Len who was surveying different areas of the ship.

“I believe so, I don’t know why but I already trust him. He didn’t bring anyone with him when he came to see me again and so I don’t think he’ll try and harm me in anyway quite the opposite in fact. He seemed to like staring at me quite a lot, especially when I had just emerged from the water.”

“Hmm funny. Must be a human thing.”

“Must be,” Len agreed.

Len continued swimming around until he found a small chest filled with gold coloured coins, a pearl necklace, some kind of clothing and a couple of now ruined books. He put the gold into his bag; he knew it was human money of some form but had no idea of the worth of it he just liked how shiny it was. He picked up the necklace as well; he’d give it to Lisa as she too liked shiny things but preferred being given them to actually going out and looking. Scavenging wasn’t really Lisa’s thing. She in fact didn’t want any part of anything that could be considered criminal and that’s the way Len had always wanted it to stay. It wasn’t technically stealing though (at least in Len’s eyes) as no-one was going to miss anything.

“So you seeing the human again then?” Mick asked, trying to get Len’s attention where it was focussed on the ship.

“His name’s Barry. I’m seeing him tonight at the cove I was telling you about the other day. I want to bring him something too, something he’ll like,” Len said lost in thought of what to give Barry.

“So this Barry then, what’s so special? Never seen you like this about anyone before?” Mick asked fairly nonchalantly.

“Not sure. He’s different, not like I expected a human to be,” Len said, trying to think what exactly it was about Barry that had intrigued him so. “And he’s very beautiful,” Len admitted.

Mick gave a low chuckle. “You always did like pretty things Boss.”

They continued exploring the ship for a while longer. Eventually they pushed open one of the doors on the lower deck and inside was a room filled with maps, papers, a round map propped up on wooden legs and various bottles. Amongst all the ruined paperwork Len found a beautifully carved alcohol bottle opener. It was the perfect thing to give Barry.

Len and Mick finished up and swam back to Len’s secret cave. Waiting outside was Lisa which was unusual. She knew about Len’s stash of human trinkets but never seemed that bothered about seeing what Len had found.

“Sis? Not like you to venture out here?” Len questioned.

“I have a surprise for you Lenny,” Lisa said practically beaming.

“Okay,” Len said, a little sceptical but he dutifully followed Lisa inside the cave anyway.

“Wow,” Len said in awe when he saw just what Lisa had found for him.

It was a statue of Barry, dressed in some kind of fine looking clothes and holding a sword and a shield. At least those were two items Len did recognise by now; he found enough of them on shipwrecks.

 “Lise… how did you… where did you find this?”

“I have friends too Lenny,” she said coyly.

“Seems like she is taking after you after all ey Boss?” Mick joked.

Lisa smirked. “Someone mentioned a ship that had gone down recently and so I went to explore. Had a little help getting that thing here though.”

“How did you find the wreck? I assumed there would be nothing left from the way I saw it burn.”

“I have my ways dear brother. But enough of that, do you like it?”

“It’s beautiful Lise. I saw it on the ship but assumed it would have been destroyed too.”

“Nope. Although it is about the only thing that did survive.”

“Thanks, sis,” Len said giving her a warm smile.

“I’ll leave you boys too it, I have somewhere I need to be but just wanted to show Lenny this and give him the surprise.”

“Actually I found something for you Lise.” Len handed her the necklace.

“Ooh Lenny you do spoil me, couldn’t ask for a better big bro could i?” She said rhetorically and then thanked him and turned around to leave.

Lisa swam back out of the cave, leaving Len and Mick alone once more.

“You sure you know what you’re doing Len? Seeing this human again?” Mick asked with a bit of concern colouring his tone.

“I do Mick. I’ll be fine. Plus you know how long I’ve wanted to leave this place and explore the human world up above. I think Barry might be the one able to give that to me. I know everyone thinks it’s dangerous but I have to know, have to find out for myself,” Len said wistfully, dreaming of the human world and all the things he wished to explore: dancing, walking, the strange objects humans used, their clothes, what fire was, everything about them.

“If you’re sure then I trust your judgement boss,” Mick replied with a curt nod.

“Thanks partner.”

Len picked up a few more gold coins and placed them in his bag to give to Barry. He hoped Barry liked his gifts.

******

As Barry had hoped the day did indeed fly by as him and Joe made the final arrangements for Barry’s birthday ball.

Now, he couldn’t stop grinning as he made his way to the shore. He’d just taken his horse, Bolt, this time and it wasn’t unusual for him to go riding across the cliffs at dusk anyway. He’d left Bolt in a nearby village, one, because that caused less suspicion than a horse left at the side of the road and two, the horse would get spoiled with carrots and his favourite treats from the stable boy, whom Barry knew.

Barry was pretty sure no one would follow him, it wasn’t that sort of place, but he didn’t want to do anything to compromise Len’s safety. Plus he didn’t mind the short walk on foot anyway; the sky was beautiful with shades of pink and orange dancing across the clouds as the sun began to set. Barry carefully descended the cliff path, which wasn’t easy and navigated through bits of overgrown shrubbery, trying carefully to keep his footing. It wouldn’t exactly be great to sprain an ankle right now. He eventually made it though and walked over to the rock formation Len had mentioned.

As if sensing his presence, Barry heard a splash and then saw Len pulling himself from the water and onto one of the rocks. It didn’t exactly look easy not having legs to help but Len seemed to manage just fine and was eventually sat atop a rock, smiling at Barry. He had a small cloth bag clutched in his hand too.

Len didn’t miss the way Barry looked at him as he once gain emerged from the water.

Barry took a translator pill from his pocket and swallowed it, then climbed onto the other rock so he was sat across from the merman. “Hi,” Barry said in greeting.

“Hello, Barry,” Len replied. “I hope your journey here wasn’t too difficult.”

“Oh no, I took my horse which is quicker than a carriage, the steps down here were a bit tricky but nothing too bad,” Barry replied. Actually the steps had been difficult but he didn’t want Len to feel bad for choosing this spot to meet.

Len looked suddenly puzzled at Barry’s words. “What’s a ‘horse’?” He asked, trying to copy how Barry had said the word.

“Oh,” Barry said taken back a bit. Really he should have seen that coming, Len had probably never seen one in his life. It wasn’t as if they had undersea horses. Well not that kind at least. What humans called Seahorses must have had a different name in Len’s language.

“Well it’s a large four legged animal. They’re big enough to ride and carry goods. They’re very gentle creatures,” Barry said thinking of Bolt, he’s had him since he his 21st Birthday, he was one of several presents from his parents.

“How interesting,” Len mused, “I’d love to see one of these ‘horses’ at some point.”

“Of course,” Barry answered quickly. “I’m not sure how I’d get him down the cliff but…,” he trailed off, trying to think of the logistics. “…I’m sure I could find a way,” Barry said brightly.

“I’d like that, very much, Barry. I’d love to know more about the human world and about you,” Len said.

Barry felt his cheeks heat up and he smiled coyly.

“I actually have something for you,” Len said, “if you’ll allow it.”

Once again Barry was surprised. “Len you really didn’t have to get me anything, saving my life was more than you could ever do.”

“I didn’t have to… but I wanted to. You deserve it,” Len said.

That caused Barry to blush again; he could feel himself getting redder.

Len pulled what looked like a corkscrew out of his bag and presented it to Barry. “I’m told this opens bottles in your world, I found it earlier today in a shipwreck and thought you’d like it.”

Barry was speechless, it wasn’t exactly an over extravagant gift but the thought alone, that Len had found something specifically for him, made Barry smile. Barry accepted the gift and looked it over in his hands. It was beautifully carved and still looked fairly new; it must have been from a recent wreck.

“Len, this is… thank you,” Barry said sincerely, when he didn’t have any other words to express his gratitude.

“I have something else too,” Len said pulling out a hand full of gold coins and placing the pieces into Barry’s hands.

Barry stared in shock, this was… a lot of money. “Len I can’t accept this, this is too much,” Barry said.

“Take it Barry, I have chests full. We don’t exactly have any use for it, I just like the shininess of it,” Len answered with a smirk.

“O-okay, umm, thank you, for real, this is so nice,” Barry said stumbling over his words. Good job he had deep pockets.

As the sun continued to set, they chatted more about Len’s life under the sea and his love of collecting items from the human world. Barry noted that Len didn’t talk too much about his family or anything too personal, but he wouldn’t ever push it. After all this was only their second proper meeting after the rescue. Almost like a second date, Barry’s brain supplied but he quickly shook that thought away. A relationship like that wouldn’t exactly work given their circumstances.

Eventually, it was nearly dark and Barry thought it best to get back while they still had a little light so he could safely climb back up the cliffs. He didn’t really want to leave though instead wishing he could talk with Len for hours.

Just before he left, Len said, “Do you think you’d like to go for a swim with me?”

“Yeah, that would me amazing, but another time maybe? It’s getting dark and I should get back,” Barry said solemnly, he’d love to stay longer.

“Of course. When are you able to come here again?” Len asked, voice full of hope.

“Two days from now? Say around noon when it’s still bright?” Barry supplied.

“I’ll look forward to it Barry.”

Barry said good bye and started to walk back up the cliff and on to the village to collect Bolt and ride home. Len stayed on the rock watching Barry leave until he was out of sight at the top of the cliffs once again.

*****

When Barry arrived back he put Bolt away in the stables and slipped inside the castle, walking toward his room. Cisco was waiting outside his chambers. Barry quickly ushered him inside.

“So how was your “ride”?” Cisco questioned as soon as the door was safely shut. Barry should have expected this really; of course Cisco would want to know how every meeting with Len went.

“It was good,” Barry answered with a smile. “We chatted all about the Mer world and he actually gave me some gifts as well,” he said shyly, rubbing the back of his neck. He still felt he didn’t really deserve anything but the way Len had looked, he couldn’t have said no a second time.

“What did he give you?” Cisco asked.

Barry pulled the corkscrew and some of the money from his pocket. “He said he collects things like this from shipwrecks and collects the gold as it’s shiny,” Barry said with a laugh. Somehow the concept of collecting money just for its aesthetic value tickled Barry; that would never really happen in the human world. Not collecting it in this quantity at least.

“Woah,” Cisco said eyeing the gold, “Does he realise how much this is?”

“I don’t think he does,” Barry said smiling, “But he wanted to give me a personal gift I guess, something that he likes and thought I would too. He knows it’s our currency just not how much it’s worth.”

“Well, he seems quite taken with you,” Cisco posed, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, uhh, he’s just excited to meet a human I think. Not umm, me specifically,” Barry countered. He didn’t want to get his hopes up over a romance that could never work.

“Okay Barr, but it seems to me like he’s trying to court you. At least in our culture that’s what it looks like,” Cisco said, with a smirk.

“Don’t be ridiculous, he’s just wants to know more about the human world. He doesn’t like me like that. The gifts might just be something Merfolk do,” Barry replied, although he couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Len trying to court him. Barry had to admit that bizarrely out of all the suitors he’s ever been set up with, a merman seemed to be the best fit.

“I’m just going to get changed and I’ll see you at dinner, Cisco,” Barry said.

“See you in a bit then,” Cisco replied as he left the room and closed the door behind him.

Barry took a moment to compose himself. He hadn’t even considered if there might have been another reason for Len’s gift giving. He was already starting to feel something for Len, something he hadn’t felt like that about anyone before and probably shouldn’t given that they had such different worlds but he couldn’t help how he felt. Seeing Len was exciting, learning about his world was exciting, being near him was exciting and thrilling. He couldn’t wait to go swimming with Len in two days’ time if he as honest with himself. Barry knew it was a risk letting himself feel these things, but ever the hopeless romantic, he’d see where it led him. Maybe there was some kind of future in store for him and Len.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of your comments really inspire and motivate me so please leave kudos and let me know what you think if you enjoyed it :)  
> And do let me know if you spot any typos!


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